The Wheel of Time
by Joella
Summary: The Leonard Snart they were facing was not the same man. Mick and Sara have to make some hard choices. Missing scene for the episode "Aruba" in Season Two so spoilers if you haven't seen it.


**The Wheel of Time -** _missing scene for DC's Legends of Tomorrow -_ S2.17 _Aruba_

 **warning for spoilers**

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Mick stood to the side of the corridor as Sara shoved Malcolm Merlyn into the jump ship so she could return him to his proper place and time. He knew she could handle the assassin. The knowledge that Leonard was still in the brig below consumed him. He wanted to go see him so badly. To talk to him. To let him know what his friendship had come to mean to Mick now that he was gone. He'd tried to tell Leonard that back in 2014, but he felt like he had failed in that attempt. His partner was living and breathing **now.** He'd had illuminations...no...hallucinations about his partner for the past few weeks while he was trying to figure out his place on the team. Leonard had always run the show for the two of them and Mick had always followed his directions. He didn't go below now because he was afraid he'd fall under the younger thief's sway as he apparently had done in the now non-existent future.

Future Mick had cornered him on the Waverider and chewed him out about betraying the team again. Listening to himself, he understood the future Mick's frustration. In the past, Leonard had chosen the team over Mick causing the events that led to Mick turning into Chronos. Mick would always choose Leonard over the team. Had chosen Leonard. But that had caused the destruction of the world as they all knew it. Future Mick had explained that the new betrayal had been a dumb ass move to get even with the way the team had ignored him or, in the case of Stein, insulted him on a daily basis. Apparently this version of Leonard had treated him like a lackey rather than his partner. Future Mick had regretted his decision so much that he'd then betrayed his only friend for the sake of the team. He had started to say something else about what had happened but stopped himself. He'd finished his argument by saying that Mick needed to become the man Leonard had been when he sacrificed himself. Mick had a lot of thinking to do. He started down the corridor and ran into Amaya.

"What's wrong Mick?" She had never judged him the way the others did. Of course, she hadn't been there when he'd betrayed them to the pirates either.

"Nothin'. I just gotta think about some things."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mick looked like he needed to vent.

"Nah. I wanna be alone."

She turned to watch him go. He was not himself. He was always broody and normally he would have bit her head off. Now he just seemed...sad. Earlier, Jax and Professor Stein had filled her and Nate in about the two thieves and their fractious partnership. Jax had concluded by describing how Snart had sacrificed himself for them all. It was obvious that he was a very different man from the version they had in the ship's detention cell.

Stein had added, "The Mr. Snart that we knew is not the man below. I cannot blame Mr. Rory for being confused. Of course, Mr. Rory is often confused but that's beside the point. My point is that I never realized how much Mr. Snart had changed and grown as a man while with this team." He thought about his interactions with the thief in 1950 Oregon and the Old West. Mr. Snart had done his best for the team then, even putting himself in harm's way to protect the others. Stein's observations about Ms. Lance's grief when they lost their teammate made him wonder then how deep her feelings had run for the thief. It had been obvious to him then that it was stronger than mere friendship. This situation was bound to be very difficult for her as well. He understood why Mr. Snart could not remain in 2017 but knowing they were sending him back to certain death was sobering. Yet if he didn't go back, none of them would be alive and the Time Masters and Vandal Savage would have won. At times like this, Martin wished he'd never met Captain Hunter.

Sara pulled her shoulders back as she stood outside the door to the Waverider's detention area. _"I miss him too."_ When she'd been at the Vanishing Point with Mick where Leonard had sacrificed himself, the pain of lost chances had overwhelmed her for a moment. Now, she was about to face a Leonard Snart who cared about no one but himself. Who had killed his partner. Who had never become her friend. Who had never asked her for more than friendship. This pain was almost as bad. But she had to do it. This Snart would never learn and change and grow to become their friend if he stayed with them. More importantly, keeping him here would only destroy the timeline. She'd made her choice about not saving Laurel; how could she not do the same regarding Leonard's destiny. She locked her emotions down tight; she'd grieve later. The doors opened and, stiffening her spine, she entered.

Snart was leaning against the wall of the cell while Darhk was sitting on the bench. The two men were ignoring each other. They'd almost gotten into a brawl until Gideon had threatened to gas their cell.

"All right. Malcolm is back in 2016 where he belongs." She had felt great satisfaction in seeing him humbled in such lowly surroundings. She regretted removing his memories about being defeated, but he couldn't know the future. None of the Legion could be allowed to remember their quest for the Spear.

"In prison?" asked Darhk. He tried to be blasé about his fate but inside he was raging at being bested by a group of incompetent losers. He glared at Snart. If he hadn't tried to convince his partner to join them, things would have been different.

"No. His crappy apartment." Sara looked at Darkh while avoiding Snart's gaze as long as she could. She couldn't bring herself to call _this_ man "Leonard". She needed to remember Leonard as he had finally been, not as this cold-hearted bastard. Even when he'd first joined their team, her Leonard had never been this evil; he'd started to evolve before he was recruited by Rip. Future Sara had told her some of what had happened. She understood how Sara felt about Leonard. _"It's the things I didn't do that keep me up at night,"_ Leonard had said when Sara told him that she regretted things she had done. With Leonard, she regretted not knowing what might have been. All she had left was their first and last kiss. But that was Leonard not this Snart.

"And what are your plans for the two of us? We're dead in 2017 remember." Snart asked as he moved to face her.

"I'm not taking you back to 2017." Sara looked into the cold eyes of the man who might have become more than just a friend. Even when he'd drawn his gun on her, he'd never looked at her this harshly. She matched him stare for stare. Neither broke their gaze until Mick came into the room.

"I'll take him back now," Mick said. He and Sara were dealing with two sides of the same coin. She had to deal with the man who would kill her sister. He had to deal with the man, his friend, who would save them all at the cost of his own life. Mick didn't know who had it worse.

The jump ship was silent which surprised Mick. He'd expected Snart to try to convince him to turn on the team and help him escape. But he hadn't. He'd stayed silent.

Snart stared down at the restraints they'd placed on his wrists. His hands were curled into fists due to the electrical current running through the metal. It was causing tetanus and he couldn't force his fingers open to reach for a lock pick. They knew him too well. When he'd first been told he would blow himself up at the end of Rip Hunter's quest, he'd been skeptical. There was no way he'd do something that asinine. Only for Lisa that is. He'd jumped between Lewis and Lisa when their father attacked her. But these were strangers. Except for Mick. He'd killed Mick on the field in France. Or one of the Micks. Mick was supposed to be on **his** side. But he was following that blond chick who Snart had to admit was pretty hot. He leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes. It wouldn't be much longer.

Once they landed, Mick removed the cuffs and forced Leonard to walk in front of him as they entered the warehouse that he knew Leonard had used in 2014. He gestured with his Heat Gun for Leonard to open the door. Mick put the Cold Gun on a crate right by the main entrance. Leonard would need it for history to be correct.

Snart wondered why these people were being so lenient. Now they were going to kill him. Revenge should have been first on the agenda. Would killing him in the past damage something? "Should have done this in France, Mick. You could have saved us both a lot of time."

"I didn't bring you here to kill you Leonard." Mick had been silent the entire trip other than giving Leonard directions about which way to walk as they'd left the jump ship. He'd been thinking about the tumultuous relationship that the two men had had most of their lives.

"So what are we doing here?" Leonard recognized the warehouse. It wasn't the one he'd turned into his home; he used it for meeting with a crew. He should be fighting for his life right now. If Mick wasn't going to kill him, he had a chance to live past 2016 if he could escape. There was no way he'd agree to join the Legends now that he knew it would lead to his demise. His eyes darted from side to side looking for a way out.

"This is where Thawn recruited you for the Legion. I'm going to wipe your memory and put you on the right path."

Leonard hid his fear with sarcasm. "You mean the path where I join up with some Brit twit and die trying to save the world." Leonard knew that if arrested, he could receive the death penalty or life in prison for all his crimes. That was if he was caught. Mick's future for him was definite. He spared a thought for Lisa. How had she handled his death? Did they even tell her?

"No. You die trying to save your friends." Mick finally understood how Leonard was able to pick the team over his partner. Here he was doing the same thing. And it was killing him. He half-heartedly hoped that he'd have more hallucinations about Leonard so he could talk to him but those had led to his stupid choices. No. It was best to say goodbye to Leonard here and now and forever.

"It's still a death sentence." For once, the sarcasm was gone. Only bleakness remained in Leonard's voice.

"You know what your punishment is Leonard? You end up being a better man. And so do I." That bit of self-discovery surprised Mick. The others called him a _thug_ and considered him the muscle of the group. They kept him on the outside and that exile had led to his desire to follow Snart once again. But he was different now too. He needed to remember that and think before he spoke or did things. He needed to follow in Leonard's footsteps to honor his sacrifice. Mick vowed to try to do better.

"Better. You mean softer."

"No. I mean better." Mick raised the device Rip had given him and activated it. His partner was blinded by the light and raised his hands to protect himself. Snart stood stunned, blinking out into the dark night. Mick turned away and left his only friend behind. He remembered trying to thank Leonard by going back in time to 2013 before they were recruited. That had been harder than he had ever imagined. Until now. Leaving Leonard behind to become the man he became was ripping him apart. Mick headed back to the jump ship and the Waverider. They weren't his friends, but they were his team.

Sara was sitting in the galley with a bottle of whiskey and two tumblers. She knew Mick would come looking for something to drink when he returned from leaving his partner behind. His slow steps as he came down the corridor were easy to pick out. His head was bowed as he entered and he didn't even see her at first.

"Drink?" Sara asked. She wondered if her own face showed the loss that they both were feeling. To see Leonard alive had been a blow to the gut. To know that Snart cared nothing about them was worse. They had both lost him again this night.

Mick accepted the glass and drank it in one gulp. Holding it out for a refill, he spoke, "Leonard is back where he's supposed to be. He'll have the chance to kill himself for us now."

"Did you realize that you don't call him Snart anymore? You call him Leonard. You started after he sacrificed himself at the Vanishing Point."

"Huh." Mick thought about that. "I...no." He was silent. He hadn't realized that he was doing that.

Sara had her own theory. Leonard had always ordered Mick around, told him what to do. Once Mick returned to them after being Chronos, he'd hated Leonard's betrayal. Leonard taking Mick's place at the Oculus had shown the older thief that he was worth something. That he was worthy to be called friend. Looking back on their life together, Mick now considered Leonard his friend and not just a partner in crime. Maybe she should learn from that. Future Sara had warned her about Mick's betrayal. Thinking back, she realized that none of them really accepted Mick as a member of the team. When he'd learned that Rip had _chosen_ Leonard and that Mick was just an extra, the understanding had made him turn on them the first time. She vowed to herself to honor Leonard's sacrifice by taking care of his friend. She raised her glass, "To Leonard."

"To my friend." Mick touched her glass with his own. No more needed to be said. Now they would see Leonard only in their dreams.

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 _I have a story called "The Tip of the Iceberg." There are connections to the character introspections from that story here. I hope you liked this story. If so, please let me know in a review. I also appreciate constructive criticism as well._

 _I believe that we have seen the last of Leonard Snart. I wish we'd been given more than the 30 episodes of The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow of him. I loved the man he came to be and will continue writing about his adventures on my version of Earth 7._


End file.
